Only about one-tenth of the 23.5 million teenagers and adults addicted to drugs and alcohol receive treatment, according to blogger Jane E. Brody of the New York Times. In many of these cases, the treatment doesn’t keep people from relapsing. Overcoming addiction is one of the hardest things anybody can do, and it doesn’t end with a stay in rehab. In some ways, successful addiction treatment lasts for the rest of a person’s life. It requires changing almost every aspect of a person’s life as well as a lot of self-care. This can mean different things to different people, but one thing that many recovering drug addicts do to keep clean and change their lives is to talk about their experience in a recovery blog.
A recovery blog, as defined by the Addiction Recovery Guide, is a site or part of a site that allows recovering addicts or health professionals to engage in commentary and personal discussion about the recovery process. It isn’t for everybody of course, but those who enjoy writing find that it can be very beneficial. Here are just four reasons why.
Coping with the Recovery Process
Addiction and rehab take a serious toll on a person emotionally as well as physically, and it’s important that they have a way to express their feelings. Some people go to support groups, see a therapist, while others still write in a journal. A journal kept for this reason doesn’t have to be public; many others find that simply putting their thoughts on paper or in a word processor on a computer is enough. Those who make such a blog public can use it to reach out to others and develop their own online support group, which in itself can aid in the recovery process.
Informing Others About the Science of Addiction
Substance abuse and addiction is a difficult subject, one that people are learning more about all the time. The average person knows relatively little about the scientific factors that contribute to addiction, so a blog that informs people about new findings about substance abuse and addiction can help others. Blogs such as these are great resources for the families of addicted people who need some help understanding exactly what their loved ones are going through, and the bloggers themselves often learn a little bit more about themselves and how they can avoid a relapse.
Providing Support to Others
Since blogs can be seen by millions of people from all around the world, they can be invaluable for those looking for advice. Nobody knows what drug addiction can do to a person better than a recovering addict, so someone who is regularly posting about his or her experiences will usually carry more weight than someone who has never touched an illicit substance.
Helping Others Recognize an Addiction
Finally, a recovery blog can help others recognize if someone they love has a substance abuse problem or even if they have a problem themselves. Addiction can be tricky to spot, and once again few people know the signs better than those who have been down that road themselves. It’s just another way that recovering addicts can help others while they help themselves.
As therapeutic as blogging can be for a recovering addict, it is by no means a replacement for traditional substance abuse treatment. There are plenty of treatment centers across the country, many of which are affordable enough for anybody. As the recovery specialists at the treatment center The River Source note, people need affordable substance abuse treatment so that they can go back to their lives and contribute to their communities in meaningful ways, whether or not that includes keeping a recovery blog.
